India and China's oil firms partner up

India and China puts aside their long-standing rivalry and border disputes to work towards cooperation on oil and gas resources as the two rapidly growing economies drive energy supplies to the limit, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The countries’ largest oil companies, India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and China National Petroleum Corp., agreed on joint explorations of their assets in other countries including Myanmar, Syria and Sudan. “We think it is better to cooperate than compete,” ONGC Videsh Ltd. Managing Director Dinesh Sarraf told the Wall Street Journal.

The companies will jointly explore worldwide, cooperating on the “refining and processing of crude oil and natural gas, marketing and distribution of petroleum products, and construction and operation of oil and gas pipelines”.

India and China have previously signed bilateral agreements on oil cooperation but failed to make progress as both sides were reluctant to make concrete their efforts. Tensions from border disputes and political clashes had so far frustrated a deal.